Monday, January 23, 2012

Chinese New Year is a much quieter affair for us now than it used to be when I was a child. I used to love Chinese New Year. There were so many traditions that we followed, like all the cleaning, visiting family, all the food, the visits to the Buddhist temple etc.

Then as a teenager, I used to go to the Chinese New Year Fair that the Chinese/Vietnamese community put on with all my friends, going on the dodgy rides, eating heaps and staying out late because we could. We would also go to the Buddhist temple for the midnight firecrackers, the insane amount of incense people burned and stayed out late because we could.

This year, we celebrated with a lunch at my sister's place. My parents came up to have lunch with us and there was roast duck, pork, and chicken. There is my mother's special dish of chinese mushrooms with chicken, dried scallops and this fungus stuff that looks like hair.
This is also the first year I actually have to give out those red packets due to my married status. I kind of wish that we did a bit more so that my nephews can experience the fun, the culture and the traditions that all comes with being Chinese.

I'm also currently working on Rosamund's Cardigan in Malabrigo Worsted. It's getting a bit big for my commute knitting but that's ok. I've decided to start reading more on my train ride to work. I've set myself a goal of reading 20 books this year. I'm keeping track on Goodreads and hope to post here as well. I'm not that good at writing reviews but will give it a go. I'm currently reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Might have something to do with the movie and the new BBC series.
I've also decided to try to be a "morning" person in 2012. This may sound a bit strange but I've always had great difficulty getting myself together in the mornings. I used to skip breakfast so I can have an extra 15 minutes sleep. I've been getting up at 5.30am most mornings and the plan is get something done. I've been going for runs in the morning as I no longer find the time or energy in the evenings. The problem with being a morning person, is that you can't also be a night person. This means that as I type this at 10.53 pm, it is way past my bedtime.